San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-07-16
my WIDOW.


laughed Mrs. SOmers. IL can't even apollo
giZe, for should have said the same If you
had been before instead Of behind me; you
do talk with an air of conviction"
Ppm afraid my air OF conviction must
often have wearied you" returned, feeling
both humbled and annoyed.
Honestly not" she assured me. Had
you a less trustworthy way Of putting
things, you know, should not be here now"
She held out her hand, the sweet eyes met
mine, and for the hundredth time | was on
the point of telling her that the home had
induced her 10 seek was broken up; but,
even as hesitated, she was gone, and five
minutes afterwards | heard her playing
Schumann's "SchlummerIied," and inter-
preted by her, il became the most Tavishing
of lOve-S0ngs.
At Alden we parted with Mrs. Hall and
her charges; and hencefOTth my days were
spent at Mrs. SOmer's side. As the sculptor
finds his ideal prisOned in the marble, so |
do not know to this day whether May Som
ers did create or satisfy my ideal. She was
a woman whose eyes spoke as freely as her
tongue; they warmed to her subject, never
to me; nor could 1atter myself that my
cOm'ngs and gOings had ever once changed
the crcam-like tint of her face. Alas for
me, | had studied this woman
"Thc face of her, the eyes of her, the chin,
The little stir of shadow round the mouth"
till was tortured by Retrospective jeal-
ousy of the man to whom all these charms
had once belonged And still my ideal of
proper marriage remained the same-the
woman who should be my wife must have
waited for me as for her, 'the one only
one in the world for me-
The voyage, which | would have prOlOng-
ed indefinitely, drew 70 q close; il had been
unusually speedy and prosperous, and there
was a little civilly-eXpresSed regret among
the passengers on hearing at table that we
should land within twenty-fOur hours. The
general feeling however was one Of satisfac-
ton and relief. As | looked round upon the
pleased excited faces turned to Captain
Hall, my eyes met Mrs. SOmeT's. Neither
could ignore what each read in the others
glance, and, within five minutes of the la
dies rising, followed her on deck. She
was walking away from the corner general
ly left us by common consent, intending, /
found, to take shelter under the wing of the
veriest Old gossip on board. She let me join
her, and in return waited till we were
within few feet Of her goal before l said
suddenly
"Mrs. Somers, you never asked me why l
took this ship; you are, l know, the least
curious of women"
mot So" she replied; 'but my own af-
fairs have occupied me to the exclusion of
other peoples"
swell, must ask you to listen to mine for
five minutes" said.
We turned back to our corner and l lin
gered over the little precautions fOi her COM
fort which had become my privilege. The
warmer color on cheeks and brow as she
thanked me was rather q reflection Of the
passion in my eyes than any feeling of her
own. If l could not flatter myself that she
loved me, at least 1 recognized novice in
the art Startling myself more than her,
the pent-up thought Of weeks burst from my
lips.
did you love him%'
''If | did not, what must you think of mey'
she murmured.
think? have thought till | can think
no more" | respOnded-"I, who for years
have said l could come second in no wO-
mans heart ask you, May Somers, for the
lowest place in yours"
Her hands rested lightly on the arm of the
rOCking-chaiT. had almost taken them in
mine, when she said softly
Are you indeed asking ME for the frag
ments that reman%
Il am asking for no fragments; l am ask
ing to teach you what love is, for, widow as
you are, wife as you have been, you do not
know. would teach you by the service of
my whole heart and life"
waited for what seemed the longest five
minutes of my life before she said
81 cannot answer you now. 1t is as you
said-I do not know; and perhaps l may
never learn the lesson you speak Of"
''rhen," rejOined, ''for the gift of your
self am willing to wait. That is not what
L am asking for now" and in a few words l
told her of the calamity that had befallen
our house and of the extreme imprObability
of her taking up the position she had come
to fill. As she listened her face grew pale
and alarmed.
Il cannot offer you very prosperous life"
said, in conclusion; "but l can promise
that from the moment you take my name
nothing shall worry or annoy you, not even
myself"
pleaded hard with her; but for the life
of me l could not wish that she should take
me only as an escape from the difficulties of
her position.
"You knew this all the time" she said at
last; she had recovered her color, and her
tone was full of cold displeasure.
"Why disturb you about thing we could
not alter Or"
II hate to be treated like an idiot or a
child" she interrupted. ION a matter of
such infinite importance to me you were
bound to speak at once. As it is you have
left me no less than twenty-fOur hours to
make plan that might have had a months
consideration"
ms. SOmers," l pleaded, you do not
hate me! | ask you now simply to take my
name, to take my most faithful service, and
to take my love when you will-when you
can give me yours"
Again faint flush covered her cheeks.
what you ask is absurd, impossible. You
are in no degree responsible for this very
disagreeable position of affairs In making
me an offer of marriage you have done
much more than your duty, and, when we
land, you can see me go my own way with
an easy conscience"
could not but admire the GOODNESS, the
absolute justice of her remarks. Again my
eyes sought hers, trying to read there either
weakness or relenting. Of personal feeling
for myself there was none, and, if, as more
than suspected, she dreaded to find herself
in a strange land, no such fear was revealed.
One thing | demanded and Obtaned-per-
mission to establish her in the hotel always
used by our family, or to see her on board
the AFOREMENTIONED steamer.
The next day we landed; and, after seeing
Mrs. SOmers comfortably installed, L left
her and went to our former office. 1t was
closed and covered with bills. From there 1
went to the bank, to our lawyers, to hear
everywhere the same stOry-that absolute